Carney: At this club they treat me like a human being

Phil Rothfield

–,
Sunday,
April,
01,
2012,(8:33pm)

THIS weekend exactly 12 months ago I was sitting at this very keyboard typing out a column about why Todd Carney should go to jail.

I thought he was gone, irredeemable and had no hope of getting his life sorted after another drink-driving episode.

I was wrong and I apologise. People can change and we shouldn’t be so quick to write off troubled individuals.So what happened? How did he go from being written off as the most wasted NRL talent in years? Who helped?

Carney can put it into words and tell the story best.

“The difference is I’m now treated like a human being,” he told me yesterday. “I’ve grown up a bit too and Shane Flanagan has been unreal. The club has put some trust in me.

“He gives me a bit of space and I can live a normal life without being treated like a kid. I know exactly what he expects and the players have been unreal as well.”

Carney feels very strongly about Flanagan’s influence.

So strongly that he wants a clause in his contract that he’s a free agent if the coach moves on.

Carney is now spearheading a Sharks revival and their best chance since 2008 of making the finals.

His 40m field goal against the Panthers on Saturday night was the sign of a player who handles NRL pressure better than most.

He had an outstanding game, not necessarily in attack, but with a couple of big plays at crucial moments that meant the difference between winning and losing.

Phil RothfieldMon 02 Apr 12 (09:10am)

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